Syntax

Parameters

The directory or path, and the file name. The file name can include wildcard characters, for example, an asterisk
(*) or a question mark (?).

This parameter should not be NULL, an invalid string (for example, an empty string
or a string that is missing the terminating null character), or end in a trailing backslash ().

If the string ends with a wildcard, period (.), or directory name, the user must have access permissions to
the root and all subdirectories on the path.

In the ANSI version of this function, the name is limited to MAX_PATH characters.
To extend this limit to 32,767 wide characters, call the Unicode version of the function and prepend
"\?" to the path. For more information, see
Naming a File.

Tip Starting in Windows 10, version 1607, for the unicode version of this function (FindFirstFileW), you can opt-in to remove the MAX_PATH character limitation without prepending "\\?\". See the "Maximum Path Limitation" section of Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces for details.

lpFindFileData

A pointer to the WIN32_FIND_DATA structure that
receives information about a found file or directory.

Return Value

If the function succeeds, the return value is a search handle used in a subsequent call to
FindNextFile or
FindClose, and the
lpFindFileData parameter contains information about the first file or directory
found.

If the function fails or fails to locate files from the search string in the
lpFileName parameter, the return value is
INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE and the contents of lpFindFileData are
indeterminate. To get extended error information, call the
GetLastError function.

If the function fails because no matching files can be found, the
GetLastError function returns
ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND.

Remarks

The FindFirstFile function opens a search handle and
returns information about the first file that the file system finds with a name that matches the specified
pattern. This may or may not be the first file or directory that appears in a directory-listing application (such
as the dir command) when given the same file name string pattern. This is because
FindFirstFile does no sorting of the search results. For
additional information, see FindNextFile.

The following list identifies some other search characteristics:

The search is performed strictly on the name of the file, not on any attributes such as a date or a file
type (for other options, see FindFirstFileEx).

The search includes the long and short file names.

An attempt to open a search with a trailing backslash always fails.

Passing an invalid string, NULL, or empty string for the
lpFileName parameter is not a valid use of this function. Results in this case are
undefined.

Note In rare cases or on a heavily loaded system, file attribute information on NTFS file systems may not be
current at the time this function is called. To be assured of getting the current NTFS file system file
attributes, call the
GetFileInformationByHandle function.

After the search handle is established, you can use it to search for other files that match the same pattern
by using the FindNextFile function.

When the search handle is no longer needed, close it by using the
FindClose function, not
CloseHandle.

As stated previously, you cannot use a trailing backslash () in the lpFileName
input string for FindFirstFile, therefore it may not be
obvious how to search root directories. If you want to see files or get the attributes of a root directory, the
following options would apply:

To examine files in a root directory, you can use "C:\*" and step through the
directory by using FindNextFile.

Note Prepending the string "\\?\" does not allow access to the root
directory.

On network shares, you can use an lpFileName in the form of the following:
"\\Server\Share\*". However, you cannot use an lpFileName
that points to the share itself; for example, "\\Server\Share" is not valid.

To examine a directory that is not a root directory, use the path to that directory, without a trailing
backslash. For example, an argument of "C:\Windows" returns information about the
directory "C:\Windows", not about a directory or file in
"C:\Windows". To examine the files and directories in
"C:\Windows", use an lpFileName of
"C:\Windows*".

Be aware that some other thread or process could create or delete a file with this name between the time you
query for the result and the time you act on the information. If this is a potential concern for your application,
one possible solution is to use the CreateFile function with
CREATE_NEW (which fails if the file exists) or OPEN_EXISTING
(which fails if the file does not exist).